NHL star Max Pacioretty of New Canaan meets his 'idol'

Scott Ericson

Published 9:32 pm, Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Max Pacioretty, of the Montreal Canadiens, skates with the puck during the Big Assist V charity hockey game at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford on Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Proceeds benefit the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation.

STAMFORD -- Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty was walking with his wife in his hometown of New Canaan a few weeks ago when his boyhood idol spotted him from across the street and came over to say hello.

The idol in question was not an older NHL star but rather current New Canaan Varsity Boys Lacrosse Coach Chip Buzzeo.

Buzzeo was the captain of the hockey team for New Canaan when Pacioretty was a kid and the Canadiens leading scorer from this past season always looked up to Buzzeo, even wearing his number 16 at every level of hockey he played.

"He was my idol," Pacioretty said. "I remember he was tying my skates and instructing me at a camp at Darien Ice Rink and he was always my favorite player and he was the reason I wore number 16 my whole life."

When Pacioretty was drafted by Montreal in 2007 he told Buzzeo he would request number 16 but there was one problem, 16 was the number of Canadiens legend Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard and was retired by the Canadiens.

Pacioretty accepted the number 67 Montreal provided him, hoping to make his own mark on Canadiens history.

"Obviously 16 is a number that has been retired for awhile there for Pocket Rocket but 16 is the number I always try to get but didn't have the chance in Montreal," Pacioretty said. "They just gave me 67 in camp and no one has ever worn it in the organization so I figured I would be the first."

Taking advantage of his hero status, Buzzeo asked Pacioretty to come speak to his team ahead of a state playoff game and Pacioretty was happy to oblige.

"It was cool," Pacioretty said. "I was in their shoes a little while ago and any chance I can talk to some high school athletes who are in the same position as me is a fun experience."

This past season Pacioretty was the leading scorer on the Canadiens during the lockout-shortened season, racking up 39 points on 15 goals and 24 assists.

Pacioretty was at The Big Assist V at Terry Conners Ice Rink Wednesday and said he is looking forward to playing a full season.

"I feel there is always room for improvement in my game and every year I'd like to be getting better on and off the ice," Pacioretty said. "I am doing what I can to get stronger and hopefully it adds up for a good year."

Seeing Montreal's biggest rival, Boston, playing for the Stanley Cup gives Pacioretty a little extra motivation heading into the season.

"It was a weird year with the lockout and it almost seemed like anything could happen this year," Pacioretty said. "Our team ran into a lot of injury problems which was unfortunate. We felt like we had a good group to compete, but it was hard to watch them in the finals again."